Oshiomhole: Many battles of a national chairman in ruling party

In this piece, Group Politics Editor, KUNLE ODEREMI, examines the various ‘wars’ the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Adams Oshiomhole, contends with both in his native Edo State and at the national level.

In about six years of its existence, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has had five national chairmen. Each came with his own ideas on how to run the party. For the interim national chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, he had the Herculean task of attending to the teething problems often associated with new projects. The challenges were, however, most profound and peculiar for Akande, because of the circumstances that threw up the APC. As a child of circumstance, desperate to capture power, the APC had to contend with serious issues of divergent and strong interests from potent political camps and forces.

Nonetheless, Akande, a veteran of many political battles spanning decades, was able to weather the storm and transit power to a successor after the 2015 general election that brought his party to power in Abuja. He had a worthy successor in another former State governor in the person of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun. Notable among his assignments was to consolidate the gains of the Akande era and widen the window and space of opportunities for the APC to strength and deepen democracy. He brought to bear on the running of the party his wealth of political experience, democratic struggles during the military interregnum and discipline, wisdom and maturity of an elder statesman.

Though he had his inadequacies in his capacity as the national chairman of the APC, Odigie-Oyegun managed to remain focused and resolute in his mandate of making sure that things did not fall apart. Nonetheless, he was eventually caught in a web of intense political intrigues and horse-trading that culminated in the politics of compromise. Therefore, his exit from the exalted position was not only dramatic, but also had all the elements of godfatherism and witch-hunt. The circumstances that led to his exit, the power-play that characterised the politics of succession and the undisguised posturing by some forces within the top echelons of the party and the establishment further brought to the fore the internal contradictions, the variegated interests and power tussle in the ruling party. The influence of power mongers and desperados became most pronounced and fully activated. However, the separate tenures of Akande and Odigie-Oyegun were relatively secure and hopeful. The controversies, divergence and division in the APC pale into insignificance compared to the current era of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, as the national chairman of the party.

Crevices created by the internal struggle, power-play and mistrust that attended the contest that brought Oshiomhole to office appear widening with the domino effects pervasive. The frightening dimensions had forced some major stakeholders in the APC to raise the alarm that the ship of the party was delicately moving towards the alley.

Some former governors like Senator Rochas Okorocha had openly declared that the leadership style of Adams Oshiomhole could spell doom for the party, if not quickly tamed by well-meaning party faithful.

Other party buffs cite specific instances to corroborate their fears and reservations on the leadership style of the former Edo State governor, who has also drawn the battle line with his successor, Governor Godwin Obaseki, because of issues bordering on subservience. Critics of Oshiomhole also accuse him of engendering the crisis that caused the fall of the APC in Zamfara, Bauchi and Rivers states, especially.

According to them, he allowed personal interest of individuals to overshadow the collective will of the APC. Some party men and women argued that the chairman’s leadership approach had alienated a significant number of party elders and stalwarts, as many of them have chosen to ‘siddon look.’ Their reasoning is that the chairman could soon burn his fingers, because of the widespread battle against him from within and outside the APC.

There are other aggrieved party members who believe that he appears to be fighting the cause of certain powerful interests which might work against him soonest.

Combative ever as a union leader, Oshiomhole remains unsparing when he takes on his traducers. He refused to bat an eyelid during his face-off with the former governors of Ogun and Imo states, Ibikunle Amosun and Okorocha, as well as other party buffs that sought elective offices in the last elections. Despite the anger and bitterness being expressed by a broad spectrum of APC stakeholders in Edo State for antagonising the incumbent governor, Oshiomhole is unperturbed.

The Coalition of APC Stakeholders Forum, for instance, has had to caution Oshiomhole on his leadership style, because of the perceived negative effects on the party. The caucus alleged that he was “harassing party supporters,” just as the group alleged that his poor handling of the primaries affected the party at the general election.

According to the national chairman of the caucus, Rimamnde Bitrus Nuhu; state chairman, Lawan Mohammed; and other officials, at a conference in Jalingo, Taraba State, there was need to adjust the pattern of management of the party. They asked the APC national chairman to “modify his system of party management.”

While they said the group was not advocating for his resignation from office, but that he changed his leadership style, “in the interest of the party and all party members.” The coalition also asked the party to quickly initiate reconciliation among the divisions in the party.

“It is cardinal and essential to mend the cracks within the APC at all levels, as issues bordering on the experiences and conduct of the 2019 primary elections of the party cannot be forgotten in a hurry,” the group said.

Besides reconciliation, it urged the party to set up a committee to reconcile aggrieved members, as it requested all aggrieved persons who are in court against their fellow members to withdraw their litigations.

At a time, Oshiomhole had to join issues with other prominent persons on the same accusation. For example, he reacted to the claim by chairman of Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay, on his leadership style.

Sagay had recently claimed that Oshiomhole’s aggressive and combative leadership style had affected the party negatively. The PACAC chairman also stated that Oshiomhole once failed to heed his advice on the issue.

However, Oshiomhole promised not to respond to the allegation in public. The APC chairman said he had so much respect for Sagay and would prefer to speak to him in person and get to know what his grouse about him was.

He said: “All I can tell you is that I have a lot of respect for Professor Itse Sagay. I do remember very well that he was one of those who said I should contest for president.

“I respect him; he’s a very consistent fellow. He believes in what he believes in and he pays the price for it. So, I have a lot of respect for him. If he has said those things, I am not going to reply him through the newspapers. I will find out what he said. Then, I will call him and know what the issues are, what he’s not comfortable with. He is my brother and my elder statesman.”

In the height of the crisis of confidence between him and other interests, some leaders resorted to formal correspondence to register their anger. But the most debated letter was written by the APC National Vice Chairman (North), Senator Lawal Shuaibu. But the party declined comments on it, saying the memo was between two leaders and, therefore, not for the party to respond to.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Lanre Isa-Onilu, said: “The letter is not addressed to the National Working Committee (NWC). It is not a party issue. It is a personal letter to the chairman and so, the party cannot respond to it. It is only the chairman or his Chief Press Secretary (CPS) that should respond.”

But Oshiomhole is not without his own lovers in the party. A group that called itself APC Middle Belt Vanguard had then demanded an apology from the deputy national chairman within 14 days.

In a reaction signed by its President, Musa Ohimini Alechenu; and Secretary, Meliga Godwin, the group said Shuibu had arrogated to himself the powers of the party’s NWC and the NEC.

The statement read: “While we want to state that those words were personal to Senator Shuaibu and not the opinion of members of the NWC or NEC and, of course, majority of our party members, we called on Senator Shuaibu to apologise to the leadership of this party in the next 14 days or face the wrath of the party.

“It is on record that people like Shuaibu are not comfortable with the kind of discipline the national chairman is instilling in the affairs of the APC since he assumed office in June 2019.

“In every society, reforms don’t come easy and it is very unfortunate that at this point in time, Senator Shuaibu and his co-travelers will expect business as usual.

“It may suffice you to note that the introduction of direct primaries by the Oshiomhole-led NWC has helped in bringing the people closer to the party and it was evident in the total support enjoyed by President Muhammadu Buhari across the country in the last general election.

“We want to remind Senator Shuaibu that most of the issues we had in some states were crisis that existed before Oshiomhole took over as national chairman of our great party, particularly in Imo and Rivers States.

“This is just a case of calling a dog a bad name so you can hang it. It is on record that Oshiomhole-led NWC inherited several crisis in the party and it is only his traducers who will be blind to those facts.

“Therefore, we pass a vote of confidence on the national chairman of our great party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and we advise those fueling crisis in the party to desist from it as we are solidly behind the leadership of this great party.

“We admonish Senator Shauibu to settle his personal issues with his boss and stop being a willing tool being used to cause disaffection in the party.”

Indeed, many analysts have harped on the combative style of leadership by Oshiomhole as his greatest undoing, arguing that there is a wide gulf between running a labour union and a political party with national appeal.

Although, the APC national chairman has been able to enlist the support of the state chairmen of the party, there are other interests that watchers of events say might arise against him. The state chairmen, few days ago, rose in his defence, when the Director-General of the APC Governors’ Forum, Salihu Lukman, called for Oshiomhole’s resignation, if he failed to reconvene the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party.

It is the belief of many that it was the internal wrangling within the APC in Edo State that has snowballed into a national crisis for the party. And many are of the opinion that it is possible for the APC governors to also rally behind one of their own, a development that could put paid to Oshiomhole’s reign as APC national chairman.